Colorado Springs, Colorado

Former
Mountain Running Team Members Earn Spots on this year’s World Team

Colorado
Springs, CO ----Late
afternoon thunderstorms are typical in Colorado Springs, but overcast skies and
drizzle in the morning are rare – especially in July. This morning was an
exception with intermittent rain showers and cool temperatures greeting runners
at 7:00 a.m. for the women’s start of the Cheyenne Cañon
Mountain Race (Sunday, July 26), an 8 kilometer up/down loop course which would
determine two of the four members of this year’s Teva U.S. Mountain Running
Team. It was still cool for the men’s race at 8:30 a.m. for the 12 kilometer
course with another two team spots up for grabs.

The course, designed by eight-time Mountain
Team member Paul Low, started at the Stratton Open Space Trailhead in
North Cheyenne Cañon,
connected with the Gold Camp Path, joined the Chutes and followed the east side
of the reservoir back up Gold Camp Path for the first loop (women and junior men
ran two loops, while open men ran three loops for approximately 12 km), then
back down to the finish.

“A few weeks before the race some of the women contending for a spot on
the team figured the winning time would be about 41 minutes (for the women).
Today when the first woman was climbing the final lollipop loop toward the
finish she was set to go under 40 minutes. The cool temperatures not only helped
set a fast pace, but the moisture helped pack down the dirt and scree to make
for a quicker running surface,” said Nancy Hobbs, Executive Director of the
American Trail Running Association.

Laura Haefeli, 41, Del Norte, CO, led the group on a blistering
pace from the start around the first lollipop loop. But at the top of the first
climb it was flatlander Kasie Enman, 29, Huntington, VT, ahead of a group
of Coloradoans to the high point of the course at just under 7,000 feet. The
group in the chase were included eventual winner Megan Kimmel, 29,
Silverton, Haefeli, Megan Lund, 24, Basalt, Brandy Erholtz, 31,
Bailey, and Gina Lucrezi, 26, Colorado Springs. Enman excelled on the
downhill and picked up some distance on the group, yet was caught by Kimmel and
Lund on the second loop.

Kimmel
took the opportunity to surge ahead and bested Lund by just five seconds to take
the victory in 39:23. On the final lollipop loop, Haefeli charged past Enman to
finish in third position in 29:52 with Enman clocking 40:02. Rounding out the
top five was Erholtz in 40:19.

Kimmel’s
win earned her a spot on her second consecutive Teva U.S. Mountain Running Team
and will compete along with first-time team member Lund in Campodolcino, Italy,
on Sunday, September 6 at the World Mountain Running Championships. The pair
will join Christine Lundy, 38, Sausalito, CA, who won the USA Mountain
Running Championships on June 28 in North Conway, NH, to make her fourth
mountain team. The final member of the squad will be selected from the top
finishers in today’s event.

On
the men’s side local runner Ryan Hafer, 23, set a strong pace on the
first kilometer while Tim Parr, 27, Gunnison, CO, sat comfortably in the
chase pack and worked his way up to the lead with University of Richmond’s Andrew
Benford, 21, Ravenswood, WV, going with him. “I
felt great on the uphills,” said Benford, “Then Tim would pull away on the
downhills. He was more aggressive on the downhills, especially on the last lap.
I knew I was on the team when we topped out the last climb. Dan
Petty (UR teammate) was there, along with my brother, telling me exactly
where everyone was. The last downhill was sweet. I knew I was running my way
onto the U.S. Team. It's a great feeling.”

Parr
crossed the line in 47:13 to make his third U.S team (’04, ’05, ’09) while
Benford makes his second U.S Team. Benford’s performance places him in the
history books as the first U.S. runner to make a junior team (2006) and a senior
team (2009). Albuquerque’s Kristopher Houghton, 28,
finished third in 48:21 with local runner Alex Nichols, 24, in fourth
with a time of 48:51, and 2007 mountain team member Payton Batliner, 25,
Boulder, in fifth timed in 49:09.

Parr
and Benford will join the top three runners from the USA Mountain Running
Championships Joseph Gray,
25, Lakewood, WA, Zac Freudenberg, 31, St. Louis, MO, and Matt Byrne,
34, Scranton, PA, on the mountain team. The final member of
the six-member squad will be announced on August 1.

With a tagline, “Once is not enough,” the 2009 Cheyenne Cañon
Mountain Race presented by Walmart, was a
first year event. Additional local support from ERA Shields brokers Marzolf/Blessing,
Champion Health/Dr. Jeffrey Matthews, Bristol Brewing, Colorado
Running Company, and Criterium Bike Shop. National sponsors joining
the effort include SportHill and Teva.

There
were 36 women finishers ranging in age from 18-64 and 46 men finishers ages 12
through 62. Every participant received a commemorative USA
Mountain Running cowbell, a Teva music CD, post race refreshments, accurate
results, and for those 21 and older – a beer certificate from Bristol
Brewing.

Not
only is the event a fundraiser for the American Trail Running
Association, but also served as a fundraiser for the Friends of North
Cheyenne Cañon
and Stratton Commons. Individuals may donate, as part of their registration, to
any of these non-profit organizations. For additional information visit www.trailrunner.com.

For
information on the U.S. Mountain Running Program and the World Mountain Running
Association visit the websites listed below: